Tag Archives: College of Midwives

When a birth worker is charged with an offense in Canada, she receives legal advice not to discuss the case and not to speak with the clients involved. This makes things very difficult because she must raise funds to cover expensive legal bills and she can’t campaign on her own because of these restrictions.
I have asked for facts from different sources and submit the following information for those who are helping with the funding and care about my friend, Lisa Kusch.

Lisa in 2015

In October 2016 Lisa was charged, as follows:
“It is alleged that between the 29th day of October 2014 and the 29th day of November, 2014 in Saskatoon Saskatchewan, Lisa Kusch “ DID ENGAGE IN THE BUSINESS OR PRACTICE OF MIDWIFERY, WHILE UNAUTHORIZED TO DO SO, CONTARY TO SECTION 23(2) OF THE MIDWIFERY ACT” (see below for the wording of that section of the Act).
That’s it. There are no specific details of what Lisa did or did not do. It seems to me that this is an overly broad and vague accusation. The document with the allegation was accompanied by emailed complaints filed by the birthing woman and the attendant at the birth (a doula/friend of the woman who accompanied her when she transported to the hospital).

Some of the information I have gathered which is to the best of my knowledge:
1. Lisa was not present when the baby was born.
2. Lisa is not a Registered Midwife and doesn’t represent herself as a Registered Midwife. That has been agreed upon by all parties and she is not accused or charged for this.
3. The woman was having her first baby and transferred to hospital for pain management. I am told that the baby was delivered by non-emergency c-section, at the mother’s request. The medical reason given was failure to progress.
4. Mother and baby were discharged from hospital on a normal schedule.
5. Lisa is accused in the complaints of causing poor outcomes and delayed recovery, due to excess blood loss during the surgery.

If Lisa is found guilty of a summary offense the result will be a fine of up to $4000. This is not a criminal case and it is not a civil case. The burden of proof is on the Crown to prove that the defendant practiced unauthorized practices according to the Midwifery Act of Saskatchewan. If one reads the applicable section of the act quoted in the charge above, it is vague in its definitions.
This case will set a precedent as it is the first in Saskatchewan and will have national implications.
The trial date is now set for October 24, 2017.

Start of Section 23 (2) No person shall engage in the business or practice of performing any of the authorizedpractices described in subsection (1) with respect to another individual unless:
(a) the person is a member who is authorized by his or her license to perform
that practice;
(b) the person is authorized pursuant to another Act to perform that practice;
or
(c) the activity is one of daily living and is performed by the individual or by
a person on the individual’s behalf. (end of section)

I submit the above to help people see the bones of this complaint and action against Lisa Kusch. Thanks for reading. I will update/edit as more info comes to light. Gloria Lemay, July 12, 2017

Some people have asked if they can send money for Lisa’s fund by bank transfer so I’ve set up a separate email and bank account for that purpose. The email address is lisakuschfund@gmail.com I’ll post periodic messages on the GoFundMe page about the total that comes in via bank transfer.